FSU's line looked more human last week. But USF does have some nice dlineman.

That being said, it really is one game at a time. Nc state upset us in '98 and somehow we still made the title game. Won't happen this year. that is a tough home crowd there with a team that has beaten us. I do credit a lot of that to amato knowing exactly how to defend us back then, and having more talent as well.

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Noles lost there on their last visit in '10 after Amato departed (and rejoined Bobby). Also, O'Brien has had success vs FSU as head coach at BC. This will not be a gimme...they put up 37 against Miami so the "D" must be prepared.

Good news for the Seminoles with Florida taking down LSU. If FSU can keep winning (along with UF) and then take down the Gators at the end of the season, they have a real shot at making it into the championship game.

Beavers off to a 4-0 start. Could be a battle for the Ducks at the end....

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Yeah, OSU looks really strong this year, especially on defense. Already eclipsed their win total from last season. Should be interesting to see how we handle the rest of this UW game, and to see how we handle ASU, Stanford, USC and Oregon State. Not an easy schedule the rest of the way.

FSU just another overrated ACC team. How do you blow that lead against a weak NC State squad that couldn't run the ball the whole game?

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We a not overrated, we will put so many guys in the nfl this season it will be a joke. The problem is we coached down to our competition. There is no excuse to lose to nc state. It is a shame..our season is over and we wont be in the NT hunt next year.

But imo it was a very poorly coached game on the offensive side. Far too conservative for the talent we have. An outsider might say we are overrated, but it is simoly not the case. We have 20x the talent of nc state and the scheme was set up like we were inferior.

I wont be suprised if we beat um and uf. There is no pressure now. The acc is a clown conference and winning that means almost nothing except a bowl game. (money for old men) . So we will probably play better now that the presure is off, and unfortunatley we are playing for nothing but a state title.

I wont be suprised if we beat um and uf. There is no pressure now. The acc is a clown conference and winning that means almost nothing except a bowl game. (money for old men) . So we will probably play better now that the presure is off, and unfortunatley we are playing for nothing but a state title.

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Well, FSU will win the ACC if NC State loses again. If NC State can beat Clemson and win the rest of their games, then they will be in the ACC championship game. They hold the tiebreaker over FSU, and Clemson would have 2 conference losses. NCSU is the only ACC Atlantic team that controls their own destiny at this point.

They say if you lose, lose early and not by much to a ranked foe. Two of the three criteria were met. If NCSU continues to rise, the third one will make the loss less impactful. FSU obviously needs to win out and have some help from another ACC foe, most probably Clemson. Then, if Florida comes to Tallahassee unbeaten and we can win, it will boost our power number. Losses by WVU, Notre Dame and Oregon (where is the Civil War this year?) would bring the Noles back into the NT picture. Stranger things have happened.

I agree, they were, but I admit that Florida State should have won that game. If they had played the second half with the same mindset as the 1st half, then I think we are talking about a 34-10 blow out.

We a not overrated, we will put so many guys in the nfl this season it will be a joke. The problem is we coached down to our competition. There is no excuse to lose to nc state. It is a shame..our season is over and we wont be in the NT hunt next year.

But imo it was a very poorly coached game on the offensive side. Far too conservative for the talent we have. An outsider might say we are overrated, but it is simoly not the case. We have 20x the talent of nc state and the scheme was set up like we were inferior.

I wont be suprised if we beat um and uf. There is no pressure now. The acc is a clown conference and winning that means almost nothing except a bowl game. (money for old men) . So we will probably play better now that the presure is off, and unfortunatley we are playing for nothing but a state title.

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FL State was ranked number 3 and lost to a mediocre team who had only beaten The Citadel, UConn, and South Alabama. Thats the definition of being overrated.

The ACC and the Big 10 are lousy. No way they should be guaranteed a BCS birth when the top team is so mediocre.

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Should they reevaluate who gets an guaranteed BCS birth after every season?

Or should they eliminate automatics and just have the top 10 play in BCS games? Would have been an all Big 10 / Pac 10 affair not long ago. Now it would be an all SEC with a few Pac 10 tossed in. Sure would make it hard for the schools to plan financially.

Of course if we go to that format, the logical thing would be to eliminate college football altogether. Just have an NFL minor league(s). College football would then be basically an intramural sport.

Should they reevaluate who gets an guaranteed BCS birth after every season?

Or should they eliminate automatics and just have the top 10 play in BCS games? Would have been an all Big 10 / Pac 10 affair not long ago. Now it would be an all SEC with a few Pac 10 tossed in. Sure would make it hard for the schools to plan financially.

Of course if we go to that format, the logical thing would be to eliminate college football altogether. Just have an NFL minor league(s). College football would then be basically an intramural sport.

By the way, I'd be fine with that. Would everyone else?

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They shouldnt have to reevaluate after every season. If your conference champion isnt even a top 20 team (like the Big East a few yrs ago when UCONN went and possibly how the ACC could be if NC State wins it), you shouldnt get the enormous payday and recognition of a BCS birth.

I think Stanford scored twice on that goal line possession, on 2nd down and on 4th down.

Reason #3,569,170 why I hate Notre Dame.

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If it was replacement refs they wouldve made a big deal out of it but the announcers on ESPN just acted like there werent any bad calls at the end of that game. Good ole replay leaves us wondering whos looking at these replays.

If it was replacement refs they wouldve made a big deal out of it but the announcers on ESPN just acted like there werent any bad calls at the end of that game. Good ole replay leaves us wondering whos looking at these replays.

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For sure. It was glossed over by talking heads, because it benefits them when Notre Dame is relevant.

If it was replacement refs they wouldve made a big deal out of it but the announcers on ESPN just acted like there werent any bad calls at the end of that game. Good ole replay leaves us wondering whos looking at these replays.

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The goal line call wasn't a "bad call," it was a close call without enough video evidence to overturn.

And for what it's worth, I was rooting for Stanford, but the refs got the call right. I was watching the game live, and NBC showed the play from about 12 different angles; you couldn't see it on all of them, but on some it was pretty obvious -- albeit very close -- that the runner's elbow touched the ground before the ball got over.

What a difference one player makes, right? When Cam Newton left, the program's winning mojo departed too.

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It has to be a little more than just Newton though. This is Chizik's fourth year as coach so the roster is mostly his recruits. Does he have a problem getting the blue chip HS'ers to consider coming there? Saban is a tough guy to go against so he must be losing in-staters to Tuscaloosa. I saw the same type of slide at FSU in the early 70's. The Noles went from bowl-caliber (when it really meant something to get the extra game) to 0-11 three years after Bill Peterson left for the NFL and hapless Larry Jones took over. Jones could coach but couldn't recruit.

It has to be a little more than just Newton though. This is Chizik's fourth year as coach so the roster is mostly his recruits. Does he have a problem getting the blue chip HS'ers to consider coming there? Saban is a tough guy to go against so he must be losing in-staters to Tuscaloosa. I saw the same type of slide at FSU in the early 70's. The Noles went from bowl-caliber (when it really meant something to get the extra game) to 0-11 three years after Bill Peterson left for the NFL and hapless Larry Jones took over. Jones could coach but couldn't recruit.

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The powers that be at Auburn have no patience, so it wouldn't surprise me if he gets the ax.

I'm shocked Notre Dame is undefeated. Most analysts were giving them a .500 or slightly better season. Strange to see them top 5 again. I'll be equally shocked if they beat USC, though.

Bummed about the Gamecocks losing in Baton Rouge. I was really pulling for another SEC team to break the stranglehold. They are in the middle of a tough stretch and if they can beat Florida (big win in Gainesville against a top 2 BCS team) and Clemson (could still win the ACC) and set up a showdown with Bama in the SEC championship (and win), they still have a shot. This is Spurrier's best team at SC. Not a fan of him but it would be nice to see the east coast USC jump LSU and Bama for at least one year. We could have a battle of the birds...Gamecocks vs Ducks.

Gholston is a good athlete but certainly not a top-tier college QB along the lines of a Barkley or McCarron and if they have any intentions of making hay down the road, they're gonna have to find a way to re-install Rees at QB and not have him inserted to bailout a sketchy offense. That said, overall a fairly impressive upswing over the course of only a year.

However, imho there are a number of teams I'd put ahead of #5 ND, starting with #6 LSU, #7 SC. Oregon St. (#8) I'm not sold on, but #9 Oklahoma and maybe even #11 Georgia are ND's equal. As for the #10 ranked USCLatexTrojans, we'll just have to see (not sure after seeing the Trojans get smacked in the mouth--again--by Stanford). That said, ND's DL/LBs vs. USC's OL should be an interesting matchup because while ND's defense is front seven loaded and tough, they also have imho a so-so, exploitable secondary.

KT: LSU's win, given that their LT Faulk (Metzenberg's blind side) was out and their guards banged up (really a shuffled OL), was impressive. You knew Coach Miles would install a wildcat package for RB Spencer Ware (was a QB in HS) as a change of pace against the heralded 'Cock's front 7 of Clowney, Taylor & co., but besides LSU being amped in front of their great home night time crowd (prolly best game atmosphere?) and coming out with 'wounded bear' intensity, I think this also showed why LSU even with their 2 (close) ho-hum conference losses is a team that's loaded with blue-chip talent. That freshman RB Jeremy something-or-other who broke that 50 TD jaunt to seal the game is an example of their depth and firepower. They are fast, they are physical and Mettzenberg (QB) didn't stink up the joint last Saturday. KT, I was vactioning in Charleston (great town) last weekend and come Sunday morning, there were a number of not-so-happy local campers about town.....me? heck I had no dog in that fight....no sir, a bloody mary with olives, peppers and a dozen (2?) cold-water oysters to wolf down at an E. Bay St. joint (with NYG-Cleve on the hi-def) and I was as happy as a clam.

Overall, a lot of the traditional "big name" teams in college football are not all that great because a lot them have relatively lousy defenses; waaay to many 42-38 games being played. That's maybe one of the reasons why an offensively-flawed team like ND is ranked highly, protestations of "media-love-bias" notwithstanding. About that: whatever...there's gotta be a reason why a major network (NBC) chooses them to be their media biatch....looks like that burns a lot of ND-haters up, lol (and this from a 'Cane fan...oh and that ND beatdown of us was humiliating).

6-0 Scarlet Knights now being seriously talked about for the Tucks Medicated Pad Bowl.

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LOL
That said, fwiw, Rutgers University is where football began, 1st game played (November 6, 1869) - a win over the Princeton University Tigers.

That said, while being the highest (#15) ranked team in the Big East, like ND, I think Rutgers should be down around 20-23 in the rankings. I'd put the Big East's other ranked teams Louisville and Cincinati ahead of them as well as Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Oklahoma and certainly Stanford (maybe Boise as well). That said, not bad for a team whose coach (Schiano) bolted for the NFL Bucs at the end of last season.

Gholston is a good athlete but certainly not a top-tier college QB along the lines of a Barkley or McCarron and if they have any intentions of making hay down the road, they're gonna have to find a way to re-install Rees at QB and not have him inserted to bailout a sketchy offense. That said, overall a fairly impressive upswing over the course of only a year.

However, imho there are a number of teams I'd put ahead of #5 ND, starting with #6 LSU, #7 SC. Oregon St. (#8) I'm not sold on, but #9 Oklahoma and maybe even #11 Georgia are ND's equal. As for the #10 ranked USCLatexTrojans, we'll just have to see (not sure after seeing the Trojans get smacked in the mouth--again--by Stanford). That said, ND's DL/LBs vs. USC's OL should be an interesting matchup because while ND's defense is front seven loaded and tough, they also have imho a so-so, exploitable secondary.

KT: LSU's win, given that their LT Faulk (Metzenberg's blind side) was out and their guards banged up (really a shuffled OL), was impressive. You knew Coach Miles would install a wildcat package for RB Spencer Ware (was a QB in HS) as a change of pace against the heralded 'Cock's front 7 of Clowney, Taylor & co., but besides LSU being amped in front of their great home night time crowd (prolly best game atmosphere?) and coming out with 'wounded bear' intensity, I think this also showed why LSU even with their 2 (close) ho-hum conference losses is a team that's loaded with blue-chip talent. That freshman RB Jeremy something-or-other who broke that 50 TD jaunt to seal the game is an example of their depth and firepower. They are fast, they are physical and Mettzenberg (QB) didn't stink up the joint last Saturday. KT, I was vactioning in Charleston (great town) last weekend and come Sunday morning, there were a number of not-so-happy local campers about town.....me? heck I had no dog in that fight....no sir, a bloody mary with olives, peppers and a dozen (2?) cold-water oysters to wolf down at an E. Bay St. joint (with NYG-Cleve on the hi-def) and I was as happy as a clam.

Overall, a lot of the traditional "big name" teams in college football are not all that great because a lot them have relatively lousy defenses; waaay to many 42-38 games being played. That's maybe one of the reasons why an offensively-flawed team like ND is ranked highly, protestations of "media-love-bias" notwithstanding. About that: whatever...there's gotta be a reason why a major network (NBC) chooses them to be their media biatch....looks like that burns a lot of ND-haters up, lol (and this from a 'Cane fan...oh and that ND beatdown of us was humiliating).

LOL
That said, fwiw, Rutgers University is where football began, 1st game played (November 6, 1869) - a win over the Princeton University Tigers.

That said, while being the highest (#15) ranked team in the Big East, like ND, I think Rutgers should be down around 20-23 in the rankings. I'd put the Big East's other ranked teams Louisville and Cincinati ahead of them as well as Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Oklahoma and certainly Stanford (maybe Boise as well). That said, not bad for a team whose coach (Schiano) bolted for the NFL Bucs at the end of last season.

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Hola Dedans,

Pretty much agree with everything you said except LSU only has 1 loss (unless you're already racking one up for Bama ). The Gamecocks were right there until that pick in the 4th. If you were watching that game in Chucktown Saturday night, I'm sure the expletives were flying. Death Valley is probably the hardest road game in college football. LSU fans can be absolute D**ks, making it a very hostile atmosphere. To this day, I still can't decide if LSU or Georgia fans are worse...might be a toss up. Anyway, solid effort from LSU. Let's see if they can handle Bama in a few weeks and really create chaos in the SEC. UF vs South Carolina this Saturday will be a barn-burner and may decide the SEC east, though Georgia has an easier schedule if they can slip by the Gators. This is the most competetive SEC season in recent memory...7 teams have a legitimate shot (if you count one loss Miss St-get 'em Rabbit and Texas AM) at the SEC title.

Notre Dame gets 7-8 ranking spots from the old geezer writers reliving their heyday. There will be a correction in the coming weeks.

Glad you had fun in Chucktown, Dedans. I miss that place more than anywhere I've ever lived. Great time of year for oysters and tennis. I usually stuck to Sullivan's Island bars my last few years there but the downtown food scene is fantastic for such a small city.

By the way RE Clemson/Gamecock fans...best t-shirt I've ever seen read "Clemson's p**sies can't lick our C**ks". True hate among the fans of those schools. Great to observe as an outsider.

My bad on the LSU as a 2-loss team. My "ho-hum" references were about their 14-6 loss to UF and I forgot that their equally 'ho-hum' 12-10 game with Auburn (who's having a down year) was actually a win, again my bad. That said, yes 'Chucktown' was awesome. I previously stopped at 'Holy City' many moons ago when I decided to forgo the (now defunct) Eastern Airlines MIA to LGA flight and instead drive back to NY from school. What I didn't notice back then was C of C (Coll. of Charleston). Today, it's all over the place, from the pretty campus in the historic town to different locales spread out throughout the area, including their athletic complex located in nearby Mt. Pleasant where the Mrs. and I stayed (www.thecottegesoncharlestonharbor.com). Matter of fact, my better half remarked about the number of cute blonde C of C coeds (with cute 'toliets'-hush!-lol) strutting about downtown. Arther Ravenel Bridge to Meeting Street exit and you're in downtown Charleston in 10-12 minutes, very convenient...what crossing a bridge (sans traffic) should be like.

Did drive over on 703 to your ol' Sullivan's Island stomping grounds. Noticed the strip of bars/eateries as soon as you hit the main drag. Visited Ft. Moultrie then reversed tracks and headed over to Isle of Palms and had some great shrimp 'n lime/cilantro 'slaw' tacos and an ice-cold longneck overlooking an impressive bunch of Donzi class boats moored nearby. Back to Charleston: as you said, a wonderful selection of restaurants for a city of its size. While we did some good ones, Circa 1886, Dinning Room at Woodlands (Summerville), Husk, etc., one of our favorites (my personal recomendation) is an off-the-beaten-track joint on Highway #17 in the outskirts of Mt. Pleasant called Gullah Cusine (www.gullahcusine.net). Not to be confused with Gullah Gourmet which is a more upscale (chee-chee) place closer to downtown Charleston. Gullah Cuisine looks like a nondescript hole-in-the-wall from the outside, but whose very modest interior is clean, well-kept and has awesome, authentic low-country Gullah cuisine--the type place the 'locals' go to. We tried their mid-day lunch buffet which consisted of picking from 20 or so different hot bins/vats containing mouth-watering (if cardiologist-unfriendly) "Gullah love" (Gullah as you probably know, representing a culture that originated in W. Africa). I think I gained 5 pounds just looking at the spread before me and my empty plate in hand.

Besides the aforementioned oysters and my love of Southern cusine in general (and fairly good knowledge of how to cook it...well, for a Yankee anyway), as far as 'Low Country-specific' cusine is concerned, I think I could live off she-crab soup as well as shrimp & grits (yum!).

My bad on the LSU as a 2-loss team. My "ho-hum" references were about their 14-6 loss to UF and I forgot that their equally 'ho-hum' 12-10 game with Auburn (who's having a down year) was actually a win, again my bad. That said, yes 'Chucktown' was awesome. I previously stopped at 'Holy City' many moons ago when I decided to forgo the (now defunct) Eastern Airlines MIA to LGA flight and instead drive back to NY from school. What I didn't notice back then was C of C (Coll. of Charleston). Today, it's all over the place, from the pretty campus in the historic town to different locales spread out throughout the area, including their athletic complex located in nearby Mt. Pleasant where the Mrs. and I stayed (www.thecottegesoncharlestonharbor.com). Matter of fact, my better half remarked about the number of cute blonde C of C coeds (with cute 'toliets'-hush!-lol) strutting about downtown. Arther Ravenel Bridge to Meeting Street exit and you're in downtown Charleston in 10-12 minutes, very convenient...what crossing a bridge (sans traffic) should be like.

Did drive over on 703 to your ol' Sullivan's Island stomping grounds. Noticed the strip of bars/eateries as soon as you hit the main drag. Visited Ft. Moultrie then reversed tracks and headed over to Isle of Palms and had some great shrimp 'n lime/cilantro 'slaw' tacos and an ice-cold longneck overlooking an impressive bunch of Donzi class boats moored nearby. Back to Charleston: as you said, a wonderful selection of restaurants for a city of its size. While we did some good ones, Circa 1886, Dinning Room at Woodlands (Summerville), Husk, etc., one of our favorites (my personal recomendation) is an off-the-beaten-track joint on Highway #17 in the outskirts of Mt. Pleasant called Gullah Cusine (www.gullahcusine.net). Not to be confused with Gullah Gourmet which is a more upscale (chee-chee) place closer to downtown Charleston. Gullah Cuisine looks like a nondescript hole-in-the-wall from the outside, but whose very modest interior is clean, well-kept and has awesome, authentic low-country Gullah cuisine--the type place the 'locals' go to. We tried their mid-day lunch buffet which consisted of picking from 20 or so different hot bins/vats containing mouth-watering (if cardiologist-unfriendly) "Gullah love" (Gullah as you probably know, representing a culture that originated in W. Africa). I think I gained 5 pounds just looking at the spread before me and my empty plate in hand.

Besides the aforementioned oysters and my love of Southern cusine in general (and fairly good knowledge of how to cook it...well, for a Yankee anyway), as far as 'Low Country-specific' cusine is concerned, I think I could live off she-crab soup as well as shrimp & grits (yum!).

You hit the jackpot with Gullah Cuisine. I used to wear that place out. Actually, making a left on Mathis Ferry just before you hit the restaurant would have shuttled you directly to my old house. Gullah rice, shrimp and grits, fried oysters, real homemade mac and cheese (made with a lot of eggs)....mmmm mmmmm!! But if church is letting out, wait a few hours 'cause it's a mad house.

Next time you're in Charleston, head back up US 17 a few more miles north of Gullah Cuisine to a place called Seewee Restaurant in Awendaw. Sort of a country store feel with excellent fried green tomatoes and she crab soup. It's a local favorite.

Glad to hear about the Jet Blue service. Heck, I was excited last year when Southwest announced flights to C-town.

Absolutely dominating win for Oregon over ASU. Was 43-7 with 11 minutes left in the 2nd quarter and then we completely stopped trying to score. Couple garbage time TDs for ASU, but this was an ass kicking.